Car shopping soon...advice?

[Jolt]

I was most definitely NOT planning on doing any car shopping any time soon, but now I am forced into it. I had an accident this weekend (slid on black ice on the highway, spun out, and hit the guardrail with the rear end of my car...fortunately no injuries) and the insurance company has informed me that the car is totaled. So, I will be getting a check for the value of the car (2005 Toyota Corolla) and looking at used cars. I'm not in a huge rush because fortunately I have the use of my family's "extra" car until I find something, so I don't have to have a rental. One option would be to look for another Corolla of similar age and mileage, and it is an option I am definitely considering because I really liked that car. However, I feel like I should at least look at some other things as well. I am currently looking for a permanent job as a nurse practitionerr, and my state doesn't seem too interested in new grad NPs (at least in acute care) so I will most likely be relocating in the not too distant future. Current possibilities in the works (for interviews in January) are in Maine and Minnesota--lots of snow, and I can't let weather stop me from getting to work. That makes me think it might be a good idea to look at all-wheel drive options like a Subaru. What are everyone else's thoughts? Does AWD make a huge difference over regular FWD for driving in the snow? Also, if I do get another Corolla or something similar I would look at getting snow tires for the winter (that's what I was thinking of doing with my car if I did get a job in a place with more snow than here)...how much do they improve a car's winter handling?

[SadieKate]

Hubby and I both love having real studless snow tires. They make a HUGE difference on ice and are safer on dry pavement than studded tires. You can easily spot the folks around here that don't use winter tires (even before they slide out).

A couple winters ago I was nearly pushed off the highway by a #$%^ pick-up driver while driving a heavily packed Trooper and towing a heavy trailer. The Michelin Ice-X tires maintained traction in some nasty deep snow and ice in spite of some fast maneuvering of a tall, heavy vehicle and wagging trailer -- and an inexperienced ice and trailer driver (moi). My regular mud/snow tires would have just let us slide right on off. I do not want to repeat the experience!

I've now got Bridgestone Blizzaks on my current Suby and love them also.

PS - TireRack's prices are awesome and they have a great tool for picking tires.

[TsPoet]

Once you go MINI you never go back, and MINI's have front wheel drive. I get 30-36 mpg in my Clubbie (it's sensitive to weather and driving conditions, I think because it's so small/light).

[Crankin]

Hi Jolt,
I think you know that I learned to drive in the snow at age 37. Probably one of the most frightening things I've ever had to do. So, to answer your question, yes, AWD makes a huge difference, and so do real snow tires. Since you've been to my house, you probably can tell I could not get up my street or my driveway without AWD for a good part of the winter. My first 2 AWD cars were big, a mini van and a 4 Runner. But now I have small sedan and it's just as good. About 10 years ago, my DH was driving the 4 Runner in a blizzard, on a local road. We slid off the road, strictly because of the crappy "all weather" tires. So, I got real snow tires the next day. What a difference.
So AWD helps you with traction and stability, and so do the tires. While AWD is not what I humorously call all wheel stop, it helps you avoid situations where you might have to stop quickly and put yourself in a precarious situation. It might not have helped in your black ice situation (to me the scariest thing of all), but I had many horrific drives home in blizzards on 495, in the mid nineties, where my commute was either 40 miles or 20 miles and I did it with confidence because of the car I was driving with AWD.

[OakLeaf]

Tires make an enormous difference, but the car has to know what to do with the traction. We've had FWD and AWD vehicles on our hill, and the Subarus win, hands down. If a FWD vehicle gets up the hill in the snow at all, it's really scary.

[Mr. Bloom]

For what you want/need, go with Oakleaf's advice and get a Suburu. If it was a "full line" manufacturer, it would be the biggest selling brand in America.

[eofelis]

+1 on the Subaru. I'm on my third one, a 2001 Outback. It's great out here in Colorado. I'm originally from Massachusetts, where I got my first Subie, a 1991 Legacy wagon.

[zoom-zoom]

I've never had AWD/4WD, but I do have Blizzaks on my '06 Mazda 3. AWESOME. I also drive stick, so I have a good deal more control of wheel torque than I would with an automagic transmission. I have a tough time getting the ABS to even kick-in. I live in an area with an annual average snowfall of approaching 100 inches (West MI).

I've never felt the need for AWD. It's more expensive to maintain (more stuff to go wrong) and makes for a heavier vehicle, ie less fuel efficient. My brother has a Subaru and has had numerous accidents, even though he lives in an area that gets, at most, half the snow of my area (and he's in the city, so they actually plow the roads he drives). He drives like a moron. I don't have AWD and haven't had a weather-related accident since I was 17 (20 years ago). I'm a better driver than my brother (which he will openly admit, heh).

[Blueberry]

If you have a car you can use for a while, why not wait and see if you'll actually need AWD? I didn't want to take the gas mileage hit of AWD, and am very happy with the new family car - a Jetta Sportwagen TDI. It approaches 40 mpg in mixed driving. But - I don't live somewhere it snows a lot. I looked at Subies too, and the best I was seeing was in the 25 mpg range (and the reviews I read indicated that was a stretch).

[jessmarimba]

I don't have a Subaru, but they seem to be indestructible. I think we have at least 100 posted a day on Craigslist in Denver, and I'd buy one in a heartbeat if I wasn't obsessed with eventually buying a Honda Element.

[Blueberry]

I traded my Element for the Jetta. It got terrible gas mileage, had no useful load capacity, handled poorly in slick conditions, and is being discontinued...

[snapdragen]

I don't have a Subaru, but they seem to be indestructible. I think we have at least 100 posted a day on Craigslist in Denver, and I'd buy one in a heartbeat if I wasn't obsessed with eventually buying a Honda Element.

Honda is discontinuing the Element-- get it while you can. Too bad, I think they're pretty cool.

[jobob]

Honda is discontinuing the Element-- get it while you can. Too bad, I think they're pretty cool.

As do the Bobs.
We're very very happy with ours, but then, I suppose we're totally misguided ...

[jessmarimba]

I think it'd be better than a Civic coupe out here! But I bought the Civic for Richmond driving, not Denver.

Along those lines, Jolt, snow tires are a great option, but definitely think ahead of where you might take the car, and what you like to drive to do. Even exploring here in the summer I've ended up on some dirt roads that I didn't like taking my car down, while in VA I did so much driving up and down I-95 that AWD would've been a stupid waste of gas. (Not that my Civic gets great gas mileage for it's size, either - maybe 25 mpg/30 highway)

[Chicken Little]

I would suggest that, in order of importance for your future driving state: 1. front wheel drive 2. Posi-traction 3. Ground clearance 4. MPG. This goes without saying such things as good tires, ABS, airbags.

I maintain, and some will disagree, that the best ice and snow safety measure is your own ability to drive your vehicle. I spent many winters on the East coast, in a rear wheel drive Toyota pickup with a 4 speed transmission and a snow chain on one rear tire. As a poor student, I passed many a fat white guy in a Range Rover with spinning tires.

I'm just sayin'